A new long-distance walking route will celebrate the geography and spectacular scenery of Westmorland and Furness.
The Westmorland and Furness Way will run for 120 miles, linking Alston in the north and Furness Abbey in the south, following a route that showcases some of the area’s best countryside in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Yorkshire Dales National Park (Westmorland Dales) and the Lake District National Park.
The route, which is scheduled to launch in Autumn 2026, is being developed by Westmorland and Furness Council.
The trail can be divided into sections or tackled as a whole long-distance challenge, taking an estimated eight to 17 days to complete. It is hoped it will prove popular with walkers of all abilities, helping improve health and wellbeing, attracting people to the area and boosting the economies of communities along the route.
The six main sections of the Westmorland Way reflect the geographical features that can been seen along each part of the trail:
- Section 1: Alston to Milburn “Over the Pennines” (16 miles, taking an estimated 1 to 2 days)
- Section 2: Milburn to Kirkby Stephen “Following the Eden” (23 miles, taking an estimated 2 to 3 days)
- Section 3: Kirkby Stephen to Sedbergh “Exploring the Dales and Howgills” (16 miles, taking an estimated 1 to 3 days)
- Section 4: Sedbergh to Bowness “From the Dales to the Lakes” (27 miles, taking an estimated 2 to 4 days)
- Section 5: Bowness to Ulverston “Through Furness woodlands and foothills” (21 miles, taking an estimated 1 to 3 days)
- Section 6: Ulverston to Furness Abbey “Along the Furness Coast” (17 miles, taking an estimated 1 to 2 days)
The Westmorland Way will mainly link existing walking routes and the council’s Countryside Access Team is leading on work this year to make sure the paths are clear and well connected, with upgrades including improvements to stiles and gates to improve accessibility. New signage and interpretation boards will be introduced along the route highlighting key features and local attractions. A marketing campaign and website will help to showcase the new route to a wider audience.
Councillor John Murray, Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet member for Transport and Regulatory Services, said: “We already know that Westmorland and Furness boasts some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere in the world, from Lakeland vistas and rolling fells to the beautiful Dales and dramatic North Pennines.
“This new walking route will celebrate that stunning landscape in all its many forms and make it even more accessible, creating a connected path from Alston all the way to Furness Abbey.
“People will be able to walk just a few miles of one section, tackle a couple of sections at a time or undertake the ultimate challenge of walking the whole 120 miles over several days.
“We hope it will eventually become as popular and well-known as other famous long-distance routes, like the Coast-to-Coast path, Pennine Way or Cumbria Way, creating another great reason for walkers from all over the world to come to enjoy our fantastic area.
“As well as being an excellent way to exercise and keep fit and healthy, the route will also provide opportunities for regenerative tourism and economic boosts for communities along the route, with walkers looking for places to eat, drink and sleep as they navigate their journey.
“We’re looking at lots of creative ways to make sure local communities really feel the benefit of this exciting project and we’re also considering opportunities for future expansions of the route to add ‘loops’ or ‘spurs’ to take in some of the larger towns, like Kendal, Penrith and Barrow.’’
PDF Graphic: Westmorland and Furness Way route map
